Blind
by Kudos4CreamPuffz
Summary: With the fall of the once great city of Ba Sing Se, Katara sacrifices herself to save her family from a sudden Fire Nation attack. Meanwhile, Ozai stumbles onto an ancient mystery that threatens to destory the entire world. Takes place after Season 2. R
1. Prolouge

Blind chapter 1

(A/N): This is my first Avatar fanfic, so be merciful! It's supposed to take place after where Season 2 ended. I know there's a lot of Season 3 fics out there, but I guess I would call mine….different. Whether it's a good different or a bad different, that's for you to decide! R&R!

Disclaimer- I don't own, Avatar, its characters, its plot or anything else copyrighted with the name Avatar: The Last Airbender

---

Ba Sing Se.

Three simple words. Three simple words that stood for everything Katara had been fighting for. Everything that Aang, Sokka, Toph, and hundreds of others had been fighting for.

All gone.

The thought of Omashu being captured still sometimes lingered in Katara's head as a dream, something that hadn't happened. Now Ba Sing Se. The only thing that was standing between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom.

It was no question that Azula was the genius that everyone proclaimed her as. An outside attack on the Earth fortress was impossible; Iroh and the failed attempt with the Drill had proven that. So she tried something that no one else ever though of. An inside attack. A ploy. A coup d'etat. Whatever you call it, it succeeded.

Katara looked towards the sky, and as if a cruel joke, ominous black clouds started to cover the used-to-be clear blue sky.

Flying from Appa's back, Katara felt strangely numb, as if everything in the last few hours hadn't happened, all of it something she imagined.

Still staring up at the sky, the waterbender finially stopped thinking, and fell into the empty, thoughtless silence that everyone else was in.

Suddenly, the air bison swerved to a stop, and gently lowered itself onto a grassy clearing.

---

Zuko stood unmoving as he felt the iron chains clasp his wrists. He stood deceptively calm, despite the inner turmoil inside of him. He heard Ty Lee's annoyingly cheerful voice in the background, and the sound of Mai twirling a dagger on top of a finger tip, but that all seemed unimportant, and he barely acknowledged that the 2 girls were even beside him.

His thoughts were focused on the decision he made just less than a few hours ago, deep inside the caves. The decision that would, undoubtedly, change the future of the whole world.

Regret was no stranger to him. Neither was shame or remorse. Yet the intensity of these feelings inside him was something he never felt before.

A hard kick to the knees brought him back to reality and away from his thoughts.

Zuko looked up and found himself looking into the bright brown eyes of Ty Lee.

"C'mon Zuko, Azula wants to see you; and you know how much she doesn't like waiting."

As Ty Lee started to rant about what Azula did to the last person to make her wait, Mai proceeded to kick Zuko from behind, and the scarred prince stumbled. The firebender turned around, and met eyes with the noblewoman.

As he stared into the black depths of Mai's eyes, Zuko caught Mai silently mouthing out an apology;

_I'm sorry. _

---

The thumping of the steps and the vibrations of the slowly moving wheels that traveled through the ground and the pebbles to a blind girl's dirt-covered feet told her one thing.

_They're here. _

Her clouded eyes widened with fear as she realized exactly how many soldiers and tanks there were.

_Oh shit. _

---

As she flew through the air on the back of the air bison, Katara made her decision.

As she thought about what the consequences were of doing what she was about to do, she bit her lower lip in an attempt to hide the sadness that was welling up Taking the cork off her water flask, the waterbender took one last look at her extended family, and then jumped.

As she flew through the air, she could hear her friend's cries of astonishment, and even Aang trying his best to airbend Katara back up to the bison.

Aang.

Just the thought of him reassured her that what she was doing was right, knowing that they could never escape the squadron of soldiers that were already preparing to fight. Aang almost died once, and Katara wasn't about to let that happen again.

No, she would go and distract their attackers, give her family a chance for survival.

Katara flew down towards the ground, to only what she could think of as her death.

---

Author's Note- Hate it? Love it? Thought of carrots when you read it? Whatever it is, please review!

Future Notes-

I plan on making this as long as it can get, and I update rather…..slowly, so…..

I might make this a Zuko/Katara fic, but I don't know, need reader's opinions!

Oh, and the first chapter will be **MUCH** longer than this. There's a reason why this is called a prologue and not a chapter.


	2. Chapter 1

Blind, chapter 1

Disclaimer- I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

_Five Days Later_

Katara was roughly shoved into the used-to be throne room of the Earth King. Arms bound with tight ropes and her feet in chains, she threw the nastiest look she could muster up to the guard who had just pushed her.

Suddenly a voice who she could only know to be Azula, practically dripping with a barely contained anger spoke.

"I ask for the Avatar, and you bring me this? Pathetic."

Katara felt a hand grab her arm from behind and force her into a standing position. As she used the last of her strength to raise her head to acknowledge her attacker, only to see the mocking face of Azula staring back at her.

The firebending prodigy raised her palm and willed for flame to appear in it. She guided it forward, until it was only centimeters from Katara tan neck, almost touching it.

Before, the only emotion that was present in the waterbender's eyes was defiance, now, looking into her eyes once more, Azula could see the emotion that she craved flicker through the eyes of Water Tribe girl. Fear.

Bringing her head even closer to that of Katara's, and spoke in a whisper that only the two benders could hear.

"I'll be seeing _you_ later."

Satisfied with the look of terror in the face of her prisoner, she turned around and addressed the guards. "Take her to the dungeons."

Just as a soldier was about to push Katara out of the throne room, a man suddenly ran into the room, with a small cylindrical object in his arms.

"Your Highness!"

The exhausted voice rang out and in the massive throne room.

Directing her attention away from the frightened waterbender, Azula stared at the winded servant running toward her. Bending down on one knee before her, he spoke.

"Princess, a message from the Fire Nation!"

Snatching the scroll from the hands of the panting serf, her eyes widened with surprise as she started to read the message.

Stepping absentmindedly around Katara, Azula's lips curved into a smile when she finished the scroll and proceeded to roll it back up. Slowly, she started to walk in a small circle, her red, ruby-covered boots clinking against the dark, cold tile of the floor being the only sound that could be heard. Suddenly, she swiveled around and turned to address the guards standing silently near the wall of the room.

"Get this _creature_ to the dungeon. And while you're at it, bring me my dear brother Zuko."

As the sentries took a struggling Katara away from the throne room, Azula's high, commanding voice with a hint of amusement resounded through out the throne room once again.

"It seems we have a little treasure hunting to do."

---

With her face covered with either dried blood or dirt, Katara was unceremoniously pushed into one of the dark, damp cells of the dungeons. Falling with a loud _thud_, a sudden pain sprouted from the back of head, and slowly blossomed throughout her body. Strength sapped by the seemingly unending beatings she had endured while held captive by the Fire Nation soldiers, Katara was barely able to lift her hand to her head in an attempt to find the origin of her momentous headache. Grimacing as her hand came into sight covered with blood; Katara took in a deep breath and sighed.

Lying here in the light less cell, Katara could only hope that her friends were in a better condition that she was in. It was the only comfort she had here; to know that Aang and the others were safe, that they could actually have a chance of defeating Ozai, a chance to save the world.

Lost in her thoughts, she barely heard the quietly opening of the prison door, and her mind substituted the whispered steps for the scurrying of a small mouse. And she noticed the dark figure looming over her far too late, and the only thing she could do was to let out a small gasp as she collapsed unconscious toward the ground.

---

General Hu walked along the shore of the beach occasionally glancing down at the small piece of paper held in his left hand, his dark leather boots leaving a string of footprints in the white sand. The wind was blowing, the sun was shining, and the temperature was just right, cold enough to not be hot, yet the general pulled at his sweat-soaked. As he saw a flock of birds fly across the sky, he suddenly thought of his daughter, who always loved to watch birds. At the mention of his daughter it felt a pair of heavy chains clamped onto his heart, and a sense of helpless despair fill his system.

_My daughter, _he thought bitterly,_ the one I'm never going to see again. _

Suddenly a flurry of emotions ravaged his mind. Sadness. Disbelief. And, of course, anger. Angry at himself for abandoning his newborn daughter, who would never get to know her father. Angry at his fellow generals, for persuading him to do this. And angry at Ozai, for even believing in what he was doing.

_There was a loud knocking on his door, and General Hu looked up from his shoe-cleaning. He slowly set down his half-gleaming shoe and walked toward the door where the knocking was increasing with speed. He deliberately opened the door so sluggishly that a loud creak could be heard throughout the corridor. When the door was fully open, the general saw a small, frantic servant panting out of breath. With a quiet voice that held more anger than the loudest scream, the general spoke, "What do you want?" _

_The servant shrank noticeably at the general's voice, and the in the tiniest whisper, stammered, "It's O-Ozai s-s-sir. H-He wants t-t-o see you immediately." _

_The general's anger melted away and formed back again into curiosity. What on earth would Ozai want with him? After that…incident a few days ago, he was lucky to be alive! And now Ozai requests an audience! What is he thinking?_

_The smallest quiver of a voice broke into his thoughts, "S-sir? S-s-shall I t-tell L-lord Ozai that you will be coming?" _

_ He frowned. _

_"Yes. Tell him I will."_

_--- _

Katara awoke from what seemed like an eternity of blackness. She cracked open her eyes an inch, and the only thing that her eyes were greeted with was another blackness that seemed only slightly lighter, maybe even a little red.

_Red, _Katara thought,_ red like Aang's clothes. Aang, and Sokka, and Toph..._

Aang! She gasped and shot up into a sitting position.

Where was he? So stupid of her, to doze off at a time like this! What if something-

Suddenly, all her memories came crashing back to her. Shocked for a minute, Katara slumped back down, and sighed.

_Of course,_ she thought_, who knows where they are now? _

She only prayed that her sacrifice was not in vain. But the where was she now? The last thing she remembered was that she was taken prisoner by the Fire Nation. And as she studied her surroundings, this was most defiantly **not** the prison. Tall, dark trees were all around her, and the white canvas tents surround a blazing orange-red fire. Most likely a camp. And from all the weapons strewn on the ground, a bandit camp. A bandit camp!

Her eyes darted to her hands, and she was suddenly aware of a slight, nagging pain in her wrists. They were covered with a pair of rusting, iron shackles, and underneath them were raw criss-crossing scars on her wrists.

Katara sighed. She had to figure a way to get back to everyone else, before it's too late.

She looked up at the stars, and wondered if this was all a dream. A simple dream, and before she knew it she would wake up inside the family igloo, warm and cozy; the way life was suppose to be. Not the life she had now, fighting renegade princes, chasing the Fire Lord across the globe; she snorted.

_I mean really? Who ever heard of the Avatar coming back to life? _

Maybe this was all part of her imagination, just a figment of creativity. But before she could wonder more, the sharp scent of alcohol met with her nose, and she found herself staring into the dark eyes of a person.

"Well, well. It seems that our prisoner has woken up."

Dark eyes that told her they weren't afraid to kill.

---

_A few minutes later, the General Hu's boots clanked into the throne room, and even though he'd been here countless times, the royal Fire Empire throne room had yet to stop amazing him. _

_Everything was gold. Everything. The floors, the walls, even the clothing of the Lord and his advisers were woven from fine gold liquid. The chairs, tables, desks, and the gleaming auric ink of the golden pen was flowing onto the gold-tinted paper. How they could read the record was one thing the Hu could never comprehend. _

_"Ah! General Hu! How nice of you to join us."_

_Lord Ozai's deep voice echoed off the walls of the luxurious chamber, a voice that held the might of the greatest empire in the world, yet also held the reason of fear for thousands of people._

_"If you don't want anything, I will be leaving."_

_The ruler of the Fire Nation smirked. _

_"Still bitter about last week, I see?"_

_It was through the years of military training that gave Hu the control over his barely-contained anger, and all he did was turn around to march back to the door._

_Ozai saw this, and shouted a "Wait!" and stepped down from his throne. He walked over to the general, and whispered something in his ear, and looked satisfied when he saw the horrified expression plastered onto his face. _

_---_

(A/N0: Well? How'd you people like it? I know I haven't updated in...6 months? Wow. But school is rather busy so I really don't have any time to write. This is hopefully a little longer than my Prolouge, so I hope everyone enjoys. R/R!

I got my ideas for my prologue and parts of chapter 1 from fuzzytomato's Brothers In Arms. --Awsome fic.

Just hope she doesn't kill me. _  
_


	3. Chapter 2

Blind Chapter 2

Disclaimer- I don't own Avatar. Unfortunately.

A/N: OK, well. I guess this is it. I tried updating faster, but with schoolwork and stuff, this was about the fastest I could get it uploaded.

---

"Argh!"

Zuko's shout of anger boomed throughout the room. His bloodied fists glowed with a slightly eerie aura in the moonlight, and his clothes were no better.

Battered, and tired, Zuko sighed and sat down, his back on the cold tile of the dungeon. He fixed his eyes onto the pale moon outside the barred windows of the cell, and began to wonder. Began to wonder why life had to be so...so...complicated. All he ever wanted to do was to try to get his father to notice him, just have that realization that he actually had a son. But nothing, nothing at all could satisfy him! Even killing the Avatar, something that thousands of years worth of people have to accomplish.

He plopped his chin out onto his outstretched palms, and started to think what it would be like to live a simple life, one of a farmer's son, living in a plain wood hut, never having to get the attention of a busy dad, never having to try and destroy a living legend. Never having to do anything.

_Gee, that would be the life, _Zuko thought wistfully, _not to have a worry in the world. _

So absorbed in his thinking, Zuko didn't notice the sleek shadow crawling across the room. Nor the faint tapping of expensive leather against cool stone.

Completely engrossed in his mind, Zuko almost jumped into the air when he felt the sound of a voice slip around his neck and into his ear.

"Let's go."

He whirled around and found himself looking at an black silhouette of a woman and nearly jumped out of his skin.

But before he could do anything, the woman clamped her left hand over Zuko's mouth, and with her right hand, locked it around his throat, threatening to suffocate him if she pressed harder.

Zuko kicked and thrashed for all he was worth, but nothing he did could free him from his attacker's iron grip.

Then that same silky voice slither across his skin, and he shuddered.

"Stop it. If you want to get leave, we have to do this together."

This time, the voice spoke long enough for Zuko to discern what kind of person she was. The sound that came out of mouth was sleek and polished, like the one of a city urchin, but it also held a royal tone only spoken by the high end of the social pyramid. He stopped his flailing for a second, and listened to the echo of her voice in his mind. It sounded like...someone from his childhood. A friend maybe? The slick air that surrounded the words reminded him of a noblewoman he might have met. As he tried to recall the words that were spoken just seconds before, the person maybe even made a sort of...bored tone?

Instantly, Zuko's eyes flashed with recognition.

He managed to turn his head around just enough to see his assailant's eyes. Her dark, olive-brown eyes that Zuko started into so many times before.

With a startled gasp, Zuko shouted louder than he intended.

"Mai, what do you think your doing? You can get captured, maybe even convicted with-"

Before he could continue on, his mouth was covered shut by the black-clad Mai.

"Listen," she started to hiss, "if you want to get out of here alive, then I suggest you shut up and follow me."

The muffled sounds radiating from his mouth ceased, and with a small nod of resignment from Zuko, Mai started to let go of him. In one smooth motion, she stood up, and headed toward the back of the cell.

With a questioning look, Zuko's eyes followed the dark figure as she walked seemingly ignorant to the hard, stone blocks that formed the wall that filled the back of the cell. Right when he was about to go and help her try not to walk into the wall, he gasped.

As soon as her foot touched the grey-black cell wall, it shimmered and started to distort. Like the calm surface of water being touched by a leaf, tiny waves started to radiate out of the place where Mai's foot connected with the wall.

Zuko, frozen in place by awe and amazement, could only stare back as Mai's entire body slipped through the stone wall like it was some kind of liquid.

Still petrified, Zuko didn't even respond to Mai's questioning look as her head poked back through the wall and sent another set of brick-waves expanding around the small figure of her head.

"Well, are you coming?" she questioned.

"But-b how d-did you-?"

She let out an exasperated sigh, not even acknowledging his question, and grabbed Zuko's arm and lifted him out of the cell and into the cold wind of the night.

---

_3 months later._

---

The blind earthbender sighed and slid forward on the smooth, worn, leather of the brown bison saddle. Almost as the point of falling over on one side, she started to drift dangerously to the left side of the saddle and even the slightest breeze on from her side could knock her over the good 20 feet that she was over.

Not that she cared, of course. But nowadays, Toph cared little of anything, if nothing at all.

Day after day, week after week, they spent the countryside of the Earth kingdom traveling to the towns that were safe, and avoiding the ones that were taken over by the Fire Nation.

Which were most of them.

So far, in the few months that were traveling around, they only encountered a few towns that were willing to house her and her friends. The days that they couldn't find a town, they spent wandering the forests, thirsty and hungry. Toph forgot the name of the particular forest that they were roaming now, but she stopped counting the days that they last saw a road after 10.

Just then, the small breeze that Toph was hoping would come gently pushed her over the edge of the saddle.

_Maybe now this will end._

As she fell down toward the ground a strong wind impossibly lifted her up from her would-be death. Floating up back onto Appa, Toph looked around with a bewildered face, then suddenly understood what was happening.

With an angry face, she circled around to face Aang, and then with a louder voice then she intended, weeks, no _months_ of fury just spilled out of her mouth and into the air.

"Why, Aang? Why?!?" she started to scream, "You know it's useless; with Katara gone and all the towns taken over, you _know _it's no use. So why can't you just give up?!?"

Just realizing what she just said, she gasped and covered her hand with her mouth.

"Oh, Aang, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ye-"

"No, it's ok," Aang started to sigh, his bright blue eyes starting to water, "Its the truth- why deny it?"

Seeing the tear streaking down her friend's face, Toph could barely muster the strength to force the her question out of her lips.

"Then, why keep believe?"

Even through the darkness blanketing the sky and her blindness, Toph could sense the small, sad smile that found it's way onto Aang's face.

"Because, it's what Katara would want."

---

Wrists rubbed red from the rough rope of her bindings, Katara looked up with blood-shot eyes toward her captor. Face half-covered with a worn bandanna, the man was the image of a perfect bodyguard. Muscles bulging from the tight shirt he was wearing, the watchman stood as still as can be, his face a perfect expression of stone. Dual swords were strapped on a thin piece of leather around his waist, ready to use if needed. And from the strange bulges in his long black boots, Katara could only guess what kind of nasty instruments of death that were hidden there.

But, like all classic bodyguards, from all the nights that Katara spent with him guarding her, he was "all brawn and no brain." Following orders and never questioning them, the man standing motionless before Katara was no doubtedly not the smartest wolf of the pack.

But no matter how brilliant or stupid a man was, he would still be susceptible to, as Gran-Gran use to call it, "a woman's charm."

With the pitter-patter of the rain falling the tan leather of the tent, Katara pushed loose bangs of hair out from her face, and with her bound hands, pushed the top of her rough dress far lower than any proper woman would have preferred. Standing up, Katara put on the most innocent look she could summon, and with a walk showed off her curves, the steps of her bare feet started to thud on the ground. Putting her months of planning finially into action, Katara felt the nervous anticipation of trying this for the first time.

The guard, obviously sensing something wrong, swung around, and his eyes started to widen with surprise as he saw her walk toward him. Feeling his eyes roam her body, she smirked in satisfaction as they stopped at her chest, and Katara could even see a dribble of drool start to flow out of his mouth.

With a silky voice that Katara had been practicing under her breath the past month, she asked a simple question.

"Mr. Guard? I was just wondering if I could go to the bathroom?"

Katara closed the distance between the two, and as she hooked her arms around the guard's neck, Katara stood on her toes, placing her bosom inches away from the guard's nose.

"But if I go alone, there'll be no one to protect me," she purred, "But if you go with me, maybe then I'll have someone to watch over me."

She moved in even closer, slid her left leg around his leg, pulled her face near his ear, and started to moan and take deep breaths. She felt the body in front of her convulse with pleasure, and pressed her body into his.

Sliding her lips over the guard's ear, she heard him stutter out, "I-I'm- o-of c-c-course-"

He didn't even get mid-sentence when she kneed him in between the legs.

Smiling with satisfaction as the guard fell down withering in pain, she flipped him around, tied his hands behind his back, and gagged him with a piece of clothing she found on the ground.

Slipping away from the tent and out into the rain, Katara melted away into the darkness, feeling the sweet taste of victory fill her tongue.

---

Riding the lizard until she could feel the heartbeat rise to impossible rates, Azula finally slowed the breathless lizard to a stop. In front of her stood a medium-sized cave, surrounded by the yellowish sand that Azula now stood on. The eroded stone that was characteristically found on beaches enveloped the rocky cavern, yet something didn't feel quite right.

"Are you sure this is the right place? It looks...too ordinary," came the high-pitched comment from the ever curious Ty-lee.

Azula frowned. It _was _a little too ordinary. From the description that Father gave her, the place that the three were looking for was...well. Suppose to be more than just an regular cave. Reaching into one of the many embroidered pockets that decorated her uniform, Azula retrieved a small piece of paper. Scanning it over with her eyes, Azula looked up at the cave, and then back at the paper.

Nodding her head at Mai and Ty Lee, the three jumped of the lizards, and proceeded to walk into the cave.

Staring into the dark abyss of the cave, and recalling the words her father gave her, Azula felt the tiniest quiver of a strange emotion she never felt for years. She gave an involuntary shudder as the sudden warmth of the bright sun disappeared when she stepped into the shadow of the cave, and an unnatural feeling of cold was replaced. Not even needing to glance at Ty Lee or Mai, she could tell that they experienced the same thing too.

And for the first time in years, Azula felt afraid.

---

(A/N): Well, here it is. I think it's a little longer than the last chapter, but I know it's not too much. I guess it sounds a little forced, but I promise next chapter will be _way_ more developed.

Read and Review!


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